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Solow's Struggle with Medium-Run Macroeconomics: 1956-1995

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  • Michael Assous

Abstract

Solow has repeatedly called for the development of models that combine equilibrium and out-of equilibrium outcomes or what he called a macroeconomics of the medium-run. This paper recounts the history of Solow’s different attempts to address this issue. It starts in early 1950s when Solow developed his long-run growth model and it ends in the mid 1990s with the publication of A Critical Essay on Modern Macroeconomic Theory co-written with Frank Hahn. This narrative involves different economists associated with various research traditions, going from the neo-classical synthesis in the 1960s, the New Classical Economics in the 1970s and the New Keynesianism in the 1980s.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Assous, 2013. "Solow's Struggle with Medium-Run Macroeconomics: 1956-1995," Center for the History of Political Economy Working Paper Series 2013-17, Center for the History of Political Economy.
    • Handle: RePEc:hec:heccee:2013-17
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    1. Robert M. Solow, 1979. "Alternative Approaches to Macroeconomic Theory: A Partial View, W.A. Mackintosh Lecture 1979," Working Paper 335, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    2. De Vroey Michel & Duarte Pedro Garcia, 2013. "In search of lost time: the neoclassical synthesis," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 1-31, January.
    3. Arena,Richard & Porta,Pier Luigi (ed.), 2012. "Structural Dynamics and Economic Growth," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107015968.
    4. Ian M. McDonald & Robert M. Solow, 1985. "Wages and Employment in a Segmented Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 100(4), pages 1115-1141.
    5. Robert M. Solow, 2007. "The last 50 years in growth theory and the next 10," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 23(1), pages 3-14, Spring.
    6. Kevin D. Hoover (ed.), 1992. "The New Classical Macroeconomics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, volume 0, number 558.
    7. T. W. Swan, 1956. "ECONOMIC GROWTH and CAPITAL ACCUMULATION," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 32(2), pages 334-361, November.
    8. Robert Solow, 1953. "A Note on the Price Level and Interest Rate in a Growth Model," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 21(1), pages 74-79.
    9. Solow, Robert M, 1988. "Growth Theory and After," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(3), pages 307-317, June.
    10. Verena Halsmayer & Kevin D. Hoover, 2013. "Solow’s Harrod: Transforming Cyclical Dynamics into a Model of Long-run Growth," Center for the History of Political Economy Working Paper Series 2013-02, Center for the History of Political Economy.
    11. Thor Hultgren, 1960. "Appendices to "Changes in Labor Cost During Cycles in Production and Business"," NBER Chapters, in: Changes in Labor Cost during Cycles in Production and Business, pages 79-85, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    13. F. H. Hahn, 1960. "The Stability of Growth Equilibrium," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 74(2), pages 206-226.
    14. Robert M. Solow, 1979. "Alternative Approaches to Macroeconomic Theory: A Partial View," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 12(3), pages 339-354, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michaël Assous & Muriel Dal Pont Legrand, 2020. "Growth Without Expectations: The Original Sin of Neoclassical Growth Models," Springer Studies in the History of Economic Thought, in: Arie Arnon & Warren Young & Karine van der Beek (ed.), Expectations, pages 121-130, Springer.
    2. Michaël Assous & Muriel Dal Pont Legrand & Sonia Manseri, 2020. "Samuelson's Neoclassical Synthesis in the Context of Growth Economics, 1956-1967," GREDEG Working Papers 2020-12, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic growth; Robert Solow; Medium-Run macroeconomics; dynamics; multiple equilibria;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B22 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Macroeconomics
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E13 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Neoclassical
    • N1 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals

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